Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders is a collection ofshort stories and poetry by English authorNeil Gaiman. It was published in the US and UK in 2006 byHarperCollins and Headline Review.
Most of the stories in this book are reprints from other sources: magazines,anthologies, and even CD sleeves.
Gaiman says in theintroduction that the original title for the collection wasThese People Ought to Know Who We Are and Tell That We Were Here, after a word balloon in aLittle Nemo in Slumberland strip. This exact line also appears in the text for the included short story "Bitter Grounds".
"Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story" – began as a comic forOscar Zarate's collection,It's Dark in London illustrated byWarren Pleece. Contains the characters Mr. Alice and Mr. Smith, a pair of dubious men who also appeared in a Gaiman novella calledThe Monarch of the Glen, suggesting that this tale is a part of theAmerican Gods universe as well.
"Good Boys Deserve Favors" – inspired by a statue byLisa Snellings-Clark of a man holding a double bass
"The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch" – inspired by a painting byFrank Frazetta of a savage woman flanked by tigers. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review.
"Instructions" – a poem giving instructions about what to do when you find yourself in a fairy tale, later republished as a picture book
"How Do You Think It Feels?" – story inspired bygargoyles, in this case protecting the heart. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review
"My Life" – a monologue written to accompany a picture of a sock monkey in the photography bookSock Monkeys byArne Svenson
"Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot" – not present in the British paperback from Headline Review
"Feeders and Eaters" – based on a nightmare ofNeil Gaiman's, it first took the form of a comic and later the outline for a pornographic horror film
Fragile Things won the 2007Locus Award for Best Collection, and "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" won for Best Short Story and was nominated for aHugo Award.[1] Other Locus Award winners included in this collection are "Sunbird" (2006 short story), "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" (2005 short story), "A Study in Emerald" (2004 novelette, and also winner of the 2004Hugo Award for Best Short Story), "Closing Time" (2004 short story), and "October in the Chair" (2003 short story).[2]
